D-Wade says LeBron ‘put some extra heat’ on Bronny by saying he was better than some NBA players

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and ESPN star Stephen A. Smith have been in the news lately after James confronted the sports analyst at Crypto.com Arena last week.

Smith initially took the confrontation to mean that James was upset over Smith’s coverage of his son Bronny. Smith later concluded that the elder James was upset over comments Smith made about the 21-time All-Star as a father.

Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade has relationships with both Smith and the Lakers veteran, which has helped him understand multiple perspectives in the matter.

Wade recognizes and respects that Smith has to do his job but claims that he would’ve done the same thing as the elder James if he’d been in his shoes. Wade also acknowledges that the elder James “put some extra heat” on his son and referenced a post the elder James made in 2023 as evidence.

“Bron is my guy, but Bron did put some extra heat on Bronny,” Wade said. “And when Bron put out that tweet about, ‘He better than these cats in the NBA,’ they checked that. They was like, ‘Oh, okay.'”

Wade is referencing a post the elder James made on X about two years ago, when the younger James was still in high school. The future Hall of Famer called his son better than some NBA players.

From there, the younger James’ basketball journey hit some roadblocks.

He went from high school to the University of Southern California. Unfortunately, he went through a medical emergency in the summer of 2023, suffering a cardiac arrest while training at USC. He was thankfully able to recover.

The medical scare impacted the younger James’ development. After it happened, it took several months for doctors to clear him for a full return to basketball activities. He was ultimately able to play for USC in the 2023-24 season but averaged just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

He was then selected by the Lakers with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Rocky Summer League and preseason showings only gave critics more fuel to work with. Those critics have been heard from at times throughout the 2024-25 regular season as well, but the younger James is starting to show that he is more than just the son of the all-time leading scorer.

The 20-year-old has rarely gotten NBA minutes this season, but over his last four NBA appearances, he’s gone 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-6 from deep. Perhaps more importantly, he has shown legitimate promise in the G League this season, where he has averaged 17.4 points per game in 16 appearances.

The elder James did risk putting some added pressure on his son with his 2023 post on X, but it’s worth remembering that the post was made before the younger James went through the medical emergency. Now that the younger James is starting to get his footing, he may get a chance to prove that he is indeed better than some NBA players.